Zac’s jaw was hanging open, and he looked genuinely surprised. “Did… did you really do that? I cannot… I mean… haha, I… I don’t even know what to say here.”
“Die, you bastard!” Sang shouted as she fired another arrow at him. The arrow bounced off of his armor. He shrugged and drew a long, wicked rapier. The rapier had barbs on the end of it, making the weapon look especially painful.
“This is going to be fun,” Zac said as he slowly approached the two. Sang readied another arrow and aimed it dead at the man’s head. Wordlessly, she released the arrow, firing it right at him. Much to her surprise, Zac knocked the arrow out of thin air.
“How did you do that?” Van asked as he moved to the side of Sang, his spear extended to keep Zac at bay.
“I’ve been playing in this realm for a very long time,” Zac said. “You learn how to pick up certain tricks in areas like this.”
“Keep pressing forward!” Kylian screamed as his unit merged into a large phalanx of soldiers. They all pressed against one another in a square formation to fend off the advancing Kyrissians. Sang could see a few players from both sides lying on the ground, but she tried to ignore the flashes of guilt rushing through her conscience. Her decision hadn’t been ideal, but it had been the only right thing to do. They needed that data stick at any cost.
“Come now,” Zac said. “Two against one? That’s hardly fair. I thought you’d be sporting about this. I haven’t set my army on you, have I?”
Van moved in front of Sang with his spear raised high. “You want some of this? You know full well this place isn’t safe. Do you really want to risk your life?”
“Risk my life?” Zac asked. “Ha! My life belongs to Draco. They will do whatever they please with it! You think that I fear death? There are things far worse than death, and watching fools like you descend into chaos is a pleasure!” He began to thrust his sword at Van with speed and precision.
Van dodged backwards, thrusting his spear forward at the same time. His spear’s tip poked Zac’s chest, but not with a strong enough thrust to penetrate the man’s armor. The words Damage Reduction hovered above his head.
“Things are a little different here,” Zac chuckled as Sang dropped her bow to the ground and pulled out her short sword. “Just because you’ve got the weapons, the armor, and the items doesn’t mean you have the skills. The thrust of a spear will deal damage, but only if you use enough of your strength!”
Sang crouched down and tried to circle around Zac, but he moved in synchronization with her, stepping to the left as she walked. Van was trying to circle on the other side, but Zac seemed good at keeping his attention balanced equally between both parties.
“Come on!” Capello screamed in the background as his axe imbedded itself into the skull of one of the Kyrissians. The words Lethal Blow hovered above the player’s head as blood spurted out of the side of the wound. “Oh man, this is so realistic! Best update ever!” the boy shouted as he pulled his weapon free and began to attack the soldiers who had surrounded Kylian.
“Are you kidding me, Zac?” Van shouted as he thrust his spear a few times, each time hitting only air. “You’re going to let real people keep dying over this?”
Zac shrugged as he lunged forward toward Sang, causing her to back up to avoid the onslaught of blows. Van tried to advance on Zac then, but two Kyrissians wearing heavy plate mail ran to intercept him.
“Truthfully,” Zac said, “I feel like it was you two who chose who would die over this!”
Sang gritted her teeth and charged at Zac, raising her sword high. Perhaps if she rushed him, he would lose his footing. The word Dodge greeted her as Zac leapt out of her way. As she passed him in her frenzied charge, she saw that one of the soldiers fighting against Van had his back exposed to her, so instead of stopping her charge, she pushed forward hard. The momentum caused her sword to plunge right into the back of the armored soldier. The words Momentum Bonus, Lethal Blow appeared over his head.
“Ahhhhh!” the player screamed at the top of his lungs. “Why does it hurt like this?” he gasped as he slumped over. “Why does it hurt?” And with that, he ceased moving entirely. Sang felt a great pang of guilt as she realized that she had just killed an entirely innocent person.
“Hahaha, what savagery!” Zac said, clapping his hands together slowly. “My goodness, I didn’t know you had it in you, Sang.”
“Sang…” Van whispered hoarsely. The other guard had stopped attacking and was looking at the corpse of his ally with horror on his face.
“I… I had no choice!” Sang said. “We’ve got to stop them! No matter what.”
“Yes!” Zac laughed. “Do the right thing at all costs! Now you’re starting to think like Draco! I have to admit, I didn’t see this coming. I’m impressed.”
The other guard snapped out of his surprise and raised his sword high, moving to threaten Sang, but Zac held his hand up. “Get back to the real battle, soldier. This is for me to handle.” The guard nodded and rushed away.
Van still appeared to be in shock over the death of the player. “I can’t believe it… why did you do that?”
“What else can we do?” Sang shouted as she spun around to face Zac. The man had put his sword away and was now watching them with a big grin on his face. “We’re trapped here and there’s no way out unless we fight our way.”
“We’ll talk about this later,” Van said. “Kylian! Get everyone out of here! That’s an order! Move to the mountains as fast as you can!”
The fighting behind them had been fierce, and Sang could see that more causalities had mounted on both sides. Kylian’s forces were slightly larger, but a great many of them were wounded and weak. Kylian nodded at the order and took out his horn, blowing into it hard. “Retreat! Retreat!”
Zac chuckled. “Now you’re really screwed. Ordering your friends to—” His words were interrupted as Van charged forward and leapt on top of the man. The words Grapple Semimodo versus Zac appeared above them with a strength meter hovering above the two of them. Zac grunted and growled as he tried to wrestle against Van.
“Come on!” Van shouted to Sang. “Stab him!”
The meter indicating who was winning the grapple rapidly shifted back and forth from Van’s side to Zac’s. It appeared that they were evenly matched.
Sang rushed over with her sword and pressed it hard against Zac’s neck. He ceased struggling entirely, and Van pinned the man’s arms down hard.
“Give us the data,” Sang hissed. “Or die.”
“Or die?” Zac chuckled. “Or die? My men will make short work of you the moment that I stop breathing. You’d best figure out another course of action.”
Sang glanced up to see there were about twenty soldiers remaining. They hadn’t given chase to the mercenary company, but were instead slowly approaching she and Van.
“One step further,” Sang warned, “and I cut his throat!”
“Just give up,” Van growled. “We’ve won. Either you die with us, or you give us the data stick and we all leave this place alive.”
Zac chuckled. “You really don’t understand, do you? See, this is why we hate you all so much. Your individuality, your desire for survival at all costs, has a tremendous cost. You think that I would so easily betray my own people in exchange for my life? What value does my life have against the collective? There are thousands of us, so what value do I have in the eyes of Draco? I admit, my desire to push you cost me. I didn’t think that you would order your army to attack. But do not think for a moment that I will allow myself to compromise the mission just so that I can survive.”